At the same time as the two factory-run Fiat Panda Dakar 2007 rally cars are busy trekking across the inhospitable Sahara Desert next week, a third example of the tiny machine will be making its way to the UK to take part in the annual Autosport International show, at the NEC in Birmingham.

The car set to go on show at the Autosport International will in fact be the original Panda 4x4 Dakar 2007 prototype first seen at the Bologna Motor Show last month, when the exciting project was unveiled to great fanfare. This potent little rally car will be viewed by the UK public for the first time at close quarters, during its visit to the National Exhibition Centre, lining up on Fiat Auto (UK)'s stand alongside the powerful Panda Evoluzione rally car, and the new Panda 100HP road car.

The Autosport International, which prides itself in being the world's biggest motor racing show, this year will run from 11-14 January. On display in the halls will be historic and current racing cars from all disciplines: F1 to rallying, sports cars to touring cars; while drivers set to attend next week include Mark Blundell, Gary Paffett and Derek Warwick. Of much interest to Italian fans, alongside the trio of Pandas, will be Juan-Manuel Fangio's 1957 Monaco Grand Prix-winning Maserati 250F and the Ferrari 512 BB LM which won its class at the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans.

While the Autosport International is going on the two factory-built Fiat Panda 4x4s will be contesting the gruelling Dakar 2007 rally raid, which starts in Lisbon this Saturday (6 January). Dakar 2007, with its thrilling succession of timed stages and special trials, finishes on 21 January in the Senegalese capital. It covers 8,696 kilometres, 5,100 of them in the form of special stages, after traversing Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal. It is always an extraordinary adventure, and this year Fiat will be in the thick of it.
 

Entered in the T2 category, the class which most closely represents production vehicles, the two Panda 4x4s, driven by Miki Biasion and former Dakar winner, Bruno Saby, respectively, are powered by Fiat Auto's 1.3 litre MultiJet turbodiesel combined with a six-speed manual gearbox.  The engines deliver 105 bhp at 4500 rpm and a peak torque of 123 lb.ft at 2500 rpm. Apart from their small dimensions, the two cars are particularly noteworthy for their automatic all-wheel drive system with viscous coupling and locking differential, a system that provides more grip and traction on rough and soft terrain thanks to the optimal split of drive to the wheels.

The two Pandas competing in Dakar 2007 have been equipped specifically for this rally: so room has been found inside for accessories like aluminium platforms to help extricate the vehicles from soft sand, shovels, spare wheels, water reserves for the crew, and other specialised equipment useful for the occasion.  The Fiat expedition to Dakar will include a Fiat Sedici as service back-up, and three Iveco trucks to transport spares and technicians.

Winner of two World Rally Championship titles with Lancia in 1988 and 1989, and two world Truck titles with Iveco 10 years later, Miki Biasion will be relying on the manoeuvrability and durability of the Panda 4x4.  During its development, Panda 4x4 was tested extensively in off-road situations and climate conditions that were often at the very limit: in Lapland where the temperature drops to -40°C; in the west African desert; in the rugged Sierra Nevada; and in the Himalayas. In all, Panda 4x4 was subjected to more than one million kilometres of testing before going into production.